Wendy Battleson
Wendy Battleson is Senior Vice President and Private Client Advisor with Bank of America Private Bank in New York, focusing on art finance, next generation wealth planning and wealth management. She offers extensive knowledge of the art and luxury markets, and provides sustained leadership, advice, and coordination to an accomplished clientele, helping them deploy their wealth more thoughtfully and strategically. Battleson has significant expertise in fine art, wine, watches, jewelry, and classic automobiles. Prior to joining Bank of America, she was Co-Founder and Principal of Art Strategy Partners, a bespoke consultancy, where she oversaw collection management, art acquisitions, legacy planning, and art negotiations, among others. Earlier in her career, she was an executive at Christie’s auction house in New York, London, and Hong Kong, where she developed new strategies and dealt with structures of $3 billion in annual global art transactions.
Wendy Battleson Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Senior Vice President and Private Client Advisor
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Co-Founder and Principal
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Senior Vice President and Global Head of Art Finance
Academic History
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Juris Doctor, Transactions
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B.S., Political Science and Economics
BANK OF AMERICA
Battleson supports clients in navigating the acquisition, curation, intergenerational transfer, and sale of fine art, watches, jewellery, and classic automobiles.
She helps clients evaluate their wealth within the framework of their investment objectives, lending needs, philanthropic interests, and family dynamics.
As SVP and Global Head of Art Finance, pioneered and raised approximately $500M for a major private equity firm for Art Finance "reverse mortgages" against Art.
She ran the complex commercial art transactions globally, where her personal clients include top art collectors, galleries, museums and financial institutions.
She also structured numerous private sales at the highest levels as well as global auction consignments.
She has been a visiting faculty member in Art, Business and Law at Christie’s Education.
EARLY CAREER
Prior to Christie's, she served as a key member of the executive team at Cendant, a former Fortune 100 company.
She was a Senior Counsel to Cendant in New York, where she managed a major portion of the spin-off and subsequent IPO.
Before that, she was Managing Director of RE/MAX Europe, where she ran the European and Middle Eastern operations of the company.
She helped expand the brand into 28 countries through master franchise sales, licensing and royalty structures.
Battleson is a frequent speaker on art collecting, art finance, NFTs, guarantees, and the intersection of art and law.